Archana Ambre, 25, a sales manager from Myna Mahila Foundation, and Deborah Das, 31, production and HR manager with the charity, boarded the plane for the first time as they flew to UK along with founder Suhani Jalota, 23. While Jalota is one of the 600 guests attending the St George's Chapel service, Ambre, Das and a UK volunteer of the NGO will watch the event from inside the grounds of Windsor Castle alongside over 100 schoolchildren, charity representatives and handpicked members of the public, including a teenager who was caught up in last year's Manchester terror attack.
The foundation is one of seven charities the royal couple have selected for guests to donate money to in lieu of gifts after Markle visited it last year. "Meghan is sincere and well-researched. When she came to see us, she did not just talk about women's empowerment because it was trendy. She knew her stuff," Jalota said. "She said she would help us in any way she could. We never anticipated something like this would happen. It is an honour to be representing India - I feel so excited. It was a huge shock. I am looking forward to seeing Meghan and people from other charities... We are really excited about seeing Priyanka too."
The foundation trains women to manufacture low-cost sanitary pads (Rs 25 for eight) and sell them to slum-dwellers. Jalota said she does not know how much money had been donated yet, but they would use it to increase their reach from 10,000 to 50,000 women.
"The dress code (at the wedding) is day dress and a hat, but we decided that since we are representing our country we needed to be traditional. So, we will be wearing saris," Jalota said, adding that each sari will be of a different hue and fabric.
Whilst Ambre and Jalota arrived in London on Thursday, Das's arrival was delayed by a day. "Das did not have a passport so it took a long time to get police verifications done. Then her visa got rejected. The palace and the home office sent a personal letter to the UK high commission on Wednesday. It only got approved on Thursday. It was a miracle it happened," Jalota said.
Chopra, a close friend of Markle, has said in several interviews that she will be attending the wedding.